Herta, Rahal Lead Qualifying With the Engine That Could
There is an adage in motor racing: “New cars go fast, but old cars win races.” The same might be said of engines this year in CART’s FedEx championship car series.
Mercedes-Benz, despite having won the manufacturer’s championship last year, chose to introduce a radically different power plant. It’s much smaller and lighter. All of the more than 4,000 parts and components in last year’s engine are obsolete.
Honda, the winning engine for PPG Cup champion Alex Zanardi’s car, as well as the second- and third-place finishers, also chose to build a new design. It is not as radical as the new Mercedes, but it also was designed smaller for aerodynamic purposes.
Only the Ford Cosworth stayed the same, or nearly so, with refinements rather than massive changes.
The results of Friday’s first day of qualifying on Long Beach’s 1.59-mile temporary street circuit for the 24th Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach proved, for a day at least, the validity of that decision.
Cosworth-powered cars fill the first four places in Sunday’s provisional lineup, and six of the top seven.
Bryan Herta and Bobby Rahal, hired driver and owner-driver of Team Rahal, are in the front row in matching Reynards, Herta at 111.226 mph and Rahal at 111.028.
“The other guys all have new engines, and it sounded like maybe we should be worried,” Herta said. “But I think they have had some reliability problems during the winter and Cosworth and Ford have just done a fantastic job, making small gains on the same package we’ve been running.
“It’s really paying off. I have to take my hat off to them because I think they have the class of the engines out here right now.”
Fords were also in the winning cars of this year’s first two races, Michael Andretti’s Swift at Homestead, Fla., and Adrian Fernandez’s Reynard last weekend in Japan.
The Ford engine, which was introduced in 1996, has increased horsepower this year, thanks to a new cylinder head design and the upgrading of materials aimed at improving durability.
Fernandez showed no letdown in coming from Japan’s oval to a tight road course when he posted a 110.982-mph lap, third fastest on a cloudy day of qualifying that was halted briefly because of showers.
Gualter Salles, a last-minute replacement for Dennis Vitolo in one of Payton Coyne’s cars, made the most of the opportunity with a fourth-best lap of 110.941.
Another qualifying session is scheduled for 12:45 p.m. today, with the field for Sunday’s 105-lap, or 166.5-mile, race determined by the best of the two days.
“We’re not celebrating yet,” Rahal said. “There’s a lot of work to do on our cars. But traditionally at Long Beach, the fastest times are recorded on the first day.
“From an owner’s standpoint, I’m very happy to see Bryan on the pole. That’s what I hired him for. On the other hand, as a driver, I want another shot at overtaking him.
“But, hey, if it rains Saturday, we’re in good shape.”
Gil de Ferran, who has been on the pole for the last two Long Beach races, was in the fastest Honda-powered car, qualifying fifth at 110.906.
“We were unfortunate that we had a little rain at the end of our session, and also a misfire, so we were able to do nothing with the second set of tires,” he said. CART rules allow the use of two sets of new tires during each qualifying session.
Al Unser Jr., a six-time Long Beach winner, was fastest of the Mercedes drivers. He is 10th with a lap of 110.186.
The field is so closely matched that less than one second separates pole-sitter Herta and Jimmy Vasser, in 20th place.
Alex Zanardi, defending series and Long Beach champion, was 11th fastest before stuffing his Reynard-Honda into a wall of tires late in the session.
“We started off with an electrical problem that took half the session to fix,” the Italian driver said. “Then the gearbox locked up and that’s when I lost the car. The damage isn’t too bad. The boys will have it ready tomorrow.”
In qualifying for today’s Toyota pro-celebrity race, actor Andy Lauer, who plays Charlie on the NBC comedy series “Caroline in the City,” turned in the fastest lap of 67.596 mph in a Toyota Celica to sit on the pole.
The fastest of the professionals was three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond, who is campaigning on the Formula 2000 circuit this year. LeMond reached 68.994. The professionals will give a 24-second head start to Lauer and the other celebrities.
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Grand Prix of Long Beach
at a Glance
* When: Practice and qualifying today. Support races today and Sunday. CART race Sunday.
* The course: A 1.59-mile, eight-turn circuit in downtown Long Beach.
* Drivers: Include defending and PPG Cup champion Alex Zanardi, six-time Long Beach winner Al Unser Jr., Jimmy Vasser, Michael Andretti, Paul Tracy.
* TV: 1 p.m. Sunday, ESPN.
* Radio: XTRA (690).
